Salzburg: Beer Garden

Walking around Salzburg the last day, we found a nice beer garden - frequented by few tourists.

Food was good, beer was definitely good. Like most beer gardens - nice outdoor feel to the place, because . . . well . . . we were outside.

Sometimes just when you think the beer steins are a cliche, you actually run across an authentic place that's actually still using them.

Salzburg: Sound of Music Tour (Concert Hall)

Loved this.

Not sure if I loved the fact that we were actually in the real Theatre where Adelweis was sung (yes, I couldn't get Patrick to belt out one of those tunes either).

What was also hysterical was the anorexic ballet dancer turned tour guide who did this schizophrenic tour in half german and english. She was pretty faithful to talking about the same stuff in both languages - until she got to this theatre.

For the Germans it was all about the famous operas that had been performed there, and who was planning on performing there tonight. For the Americans it was all about the Sound of Music thing. OMG, should have seen the reaction from the tour guide, when an American tourist asked whether there was a plan to put on a Sound of Music revue in order to raise money for a new roof.

Salzburg: Sound of Music Tour (Cemetary)

So one of the stops on the Sound of Music tour - the cemetary. Granted we were there during the day, and we didn't have a teenage National Socialist chases us with a mad whistle - but you get the idea.

And yes, I directed Patrick to do the whole hide behind the gravestone, but . . . yes, he refused.

Salzburg: Sound of Music Tour (Statues)

OK, imagine the Von Tramp children mimicking the statues - because God knows I didn't have a prayer of getting Patrick to do it. This was a little bit too in the open and people were walking by - so at the risk of being too touristy (yes, it can happen to the best of us), we refrained.

We did see one couple do the Sound of Music move, but he had the air of all those tourists who take cheesy picture of them trying to hold up the Tower of Pisa

Salzburg: Sound of Music Tour (The Tunnel)

Realizing by this point that I had no hope of Patrick actually getting into character, I tried to just have him extend his arms out and FEEL like he was running through the alley comme Dame Andrews.

No luck - he's so closeted.

And in case you don't believe me, and I think that I actually went to a nice park in Cork to shoot these Sound of Music places - you can check the original clip on YouTube.

Salzburg: Sound of Music (Fountain)

The tour continues - "I have confidence in me" fountain. Yep, just like all the other minor fontains in Europe nothing special - except this one had Julie Andrews run past it and dip her hand in the water.

Judging from the reaction that we were getting fom the passerbys - no one else seemed to care about the cultural icon but us. And yes, Patrick again refused to take direction with a running skip and splash manuever.

Salzburg: Sound of Music Tour (Do Re Me Steps)

Yes, I know, this looks like any other steps in Europe, but this are the famous do-re-me steps that the Van Trapp children jumped up on. At first we kind of had to take the 'Sound of Music' tourbook - yes, we bought one - since it had been awhile since we had watched the movie. But then a quick check on youtube confirmed it.

As you will see in other posts, for all of Patrick's love of the movie, he refused to re-enact the scene to music. All I was asking for here was a little hop and a bounce - geez.

Salzburg: Sound of Music Tour

Despite the Austrians dislike for this fact, Salzburg is known as the area where the Sound of Music took place, which just so happens to be Patrick's favorite movie.

Granted they have some other things that they are well-known for - like the Salzburg Music Festival (also highlighted in the Sound of Music), which was going on at the time we were there. But let's be honest - Sound of Music a way bigger drasw for Patrick than an Aida performance.

Salzburg: Coffee with Water

I have to do some more research on this one, because there has to be a bizarre connection someplace somehow.

In Austria they always serve expresso with a glass of water. Not sure if it's to clean the palate, limit the coffee stains, or just replenish body fluids from the diuretic effects of caffeine. Regardless, the weird thing is that they do the same thing in Brazil - the only difference is that the water is sparkling - not sparkling clean - carbonated, you twit.

Anyway, not sure how two countries on opposite sides of the World ended up doing essentially the same thing - maybe I'll blame Portugal - but there's got to be a connection there somewhere.

Salzburg: Beer Glass

I thought wine drinkers were the only snobs who had to have a specific glass for a specific wine. Turns out in Austria, each beer has their own special glass. I suspect it is mostly marketing, but hopefully you can see in this picture that this glass tilts slightly - it actually reminded me of one of my early glass blowing classes.

Similar to beer in southern Germany (huh, imagine that) - the lagers here seemed pretty light and fresh. And since this was the first time in a year that were experiencing temperatures over 55 degree Fahrenheit, it's also pretty refreshing.

Salzburg: Easter in August

Sheer craziness . . .

Walked by this little place in Salzburg and found a store filled with perhaps 10's of thousands of decorated Easter Eggs. Some were pretty cool, others reminded me of a Precious Moment convention. We were going to pick up a couple, but we were a bit worried about the transportation - we still had a couple of countries to fly through, and RyanAir isn't exactly known for their white glove service.

Salzburg: Wine

You know - those Austrians make a pretty good white wine. Granted it helps that it was a little hotter than wer'e used to in Ireland - but this was good.

You know that has to be one of the reasons why I like wine - just tons of countries that do it really well.

Salzburg: Eau de Vie Dream

Weber's basement fantasy - not that one, the other one. Couldn't help but think of Weber when passing through this store in Salzburg - a selection of 'eau de vie' . . . on tap.

They also had olive oils and vinegars in those lovely little containers that I must find someday, but the setup was better for a bar scene.

Salzburg Museum

Can't go to Salzburg and not have a little culture seep into your bones.

Went to the Salzburg museum, and there was a special exhibit of Austrian artists for the inter-war period. Amazing that most of the work was not destroyed - it was all deemed pornographic - but it's always a treat to see exhibits like this.

These guys aren't the heavy hitters like Klimt or Schiele, but the less famous (but equally talented) ones.

This painting is by Florenz Robert Schabbon (1899-1934) called Girl reclining with a Car.

Salzburg: Cafe Bazar

Thanks to the NYTimes (sometimes they can be hit or miss on their recommendations - see Worst Waiters in the World entry) we found this little/famous cafe in Salzburg.

Like the review said, there were quite a few different people there - tourists, locals, old, and new. Nice cafe though right on the water.

Vacation: Salzburg, Vienna, and Zadar

So like atypical Americans, we actually planned a vacation that was longer than 3.5 days and decided to head off to Austria and Croatia for two weeks.

The last time Patrick was in Austria was when he was 14, and I think he was only there because the tour bus he was on took the wrong while he was in Munich. I was in Salzburg and Vienna when I was in Luxembourg my junior year in college - yes, just a handful of years ago.

We also had never been to Croatia. Granted there wasn't even a country called Croatia until a decade ago - and even then it wasn't really the best place to go for vacation - but more on that later. First stop - Salzburg

Plants

Porch plants are doing well.

Granted, you will never get tomatoes to grow in this country without the aid of a fusion generator and a greenhouse, but on the flip side, you never have to worry about watering plants.

Not all plants are nearly as happy as these guys. Seems the local catepillars found some nasturtiums and went to town - like, bachelor party out of control. Used a bottle of very non-organic bug killer and they laughed at me - but I think they just simply got tired of chewing and moved on.

Minis

Note to self - the next time I have the great idea of getting minis in Germany for my niece, I need to make sure that my luggage is not already full. Somehow the little guys don't like flying on Ryanair after being crammed into my checked bag.

I'm sure after four weeks at Camp, Kelly didn't care what condition they were in - but they did take a beating.

Also the whole idea probably wasn't the best just from the sheer carbon footprint that was left in picking them up in Germany and then flying them to Camp via Ireland.

New iPhone Stuff

Granted I'm a geek, but had to point out that Apple has come out with their new iPhone software.

Although I am way too cheap to get an iPhone (it's the monthly plan that freaks me out), I do have the Touch - so I get all the benefits of the iPhone without the cost.

Anyway - new software, means new applications on the Touch. Nothing earth shattering yet, but the Urbanspoon app that helps you pick a random restaurant based on cost, location, and type ain't too bad. Unfortunately said app does not work in Ireland.

Staub

I love Staub . . .

While in Fegersheim I picked up some killer cookware in Turckheim. I was hoping to find the ones like I bought the last time I was in Fegersheim (about 3 inches in diameter). Of course, factory outlet stores never have the same thing twice, so I had to step up to the 10cm ones.

Very nice cast iron - use them for everything. Pretty easy to clean and they don't tend to rust.

World is officially coming to an end - flip flops on Patrick?

Can't believe this actually.

Patrick, the man who can't stand feet, even though he uses two religiously every day - also has an associative disorder with flip flops.

So imagine my surprise, when he was heading out the door in a pair of mine. Yes, I gave him crap.

Oatmeal - OK, porridge

OK, this post is kind of silly, but profound . . .

Growing up as a child I HATED oatmeal. It seems like we only had it when Mom had run out of eggs and had no desire to make anything else for our breakfast that didn't use them. I tried to cover it with jam, but that didn't work too well.

So fast forward 20 years (plus or minus), and I find myself eating breakfast regularly again in Ireland. At first it was scone break, and I had tons of those; but cannot live on scones alone. So after dissing the oatmeal, I tried it.

You know, it's not so bad. I had it with some granola and raisins, and then I ventured out with this cooked fruit thing the Irish do - and I'm kind of addicted now. It's actually relatively high in protein, and it stays with you for a long time - probably because it has gelled in my upper intestines - regardless . . .

The key is timing - if you go for porridge at 9:15 when the cafeteria first opens, it's too runny. If you go at 9:45, it's too thick and you may even run the risk of them not having it - so 9:30 is kind of the sweet spot. And yes, my new nickname at work is Goldilocks.

Now I know why the Irish got pissed, when we tried to work through scone break.

Hard Life Continues

Yep, this is another view out of window in the morning - meet the Great Blue Heron.

Although we are really looking forward to the next assignment to spend with Gaby and Mamacita, we know that there are certain advantages that we won't have living in Mexico City as opposed to Kinsale - not only will we not have a mere 5 minute commute to work without a single stop sign or light - but we also won't have Mr. Heron here hanging outside in the morning.

Life is hard.

Jellyfish, I think

Nope is not a deflated rubber ball that has come back from the sea, this is what we found when walking along with the beach.

I'm sure his mother found him/her beautiful, but I'm not so sure anyone else did.

Ewww.

Chocolate Shop

I know, they look like rabbit turds.

But actually these chocolates came from Patrick and the new chocolate shop that opened up down the street.

I think they tried initially with the lunch thing - offering some snacks and sandwiches along with their fresh chocolate. But I think they realized that it's easier to just sell chocolate exclusively. Really good stuff.

Seals

I forget her name, but this seal and her mother kind of live in the Kinsale harbor.

Not a real surprise though, she already knows the fishing vessels, so she's there to collect her share of the catch right outside our window (literally).

If you get her on a good day, she'll sit there for a pretty long time just saying, "Do you have any more? Huh?"

New Fence

Ah, where are the before pictures, when you need them?

In case you have not been blessed by our old fence on the north side of the house, it was a disaster. Our previous neighbor, Betty, had this thing that was a combo chain link fence with 100 year old wood post fence thing woven between it. 100 year old wood is great for the floors inside a house, but not for the divider between neighbors.

So with the new neighbors, we finally put up a new fence. Well, I should say, neighbor Stu put up the new fence - I just had to supply capital.

Thanks Stu !!! The place looks great, and they even cleaned out the nasty compost pile, old sink it looks like, and lord knows what else.

Now the issue is with this new and open dog run, I feel the need to do something with it - right now - maybe some plantings, some pavers, who knows. Other issue is that we're eventually planning to sell the house - not sure it makes much sense to drop more cash in the dog run. Plus no telling what the two little beasties will do to the area now that they can't chase squirrels over in Stu and Karen's backyard.

Brian's Visit

OK, so here's the deal . . .

Since we're on a short-term assignment, we only get one free trip home for both of us. Patrick has been able to go home a couple times because of his job, but it seemed kind of silly for me to go home by myself if I really didn't need to so. . .

Free trip (business class) to one lucky family member. Personally I don't think you can appreciate business class unless you've flown internationally on commoner class, but at least they'll be bitchy the next time when they're traveling with their parents and not get warm nuts - ha !

So like Kelly's visit to France, the lucky niece/nephew was Brian - son of my brother Michael, and his wife, Bonnie. Thought it would be a nice trip just before college.

So here's his story told through the perspective of his uncle. And for an even wackier take, you can actually go his blog for his side of the story (Brian, have you updated it yet, you know how your grandmother gets when she's out of the loop).

OK, back to the story . . .

Brian's Visit: Bad Uncle Wade

OK, although this post will probably make my other niece's chances of visiting her Uncle in some unknown destination about as likely as Bush getting re-elected this year, I couldn't resist.

You see, it's not everyday your nephew has just become legal to drink alcohol but hasn't even tried a proper beer yet. So we went through Ireland and drinking along the way - not to excess mind you - that's what college is for. This is to make sure that after he gets past that phase, he remembers what drink should actually taste like.

Brian's Visit: The Ivory Tower

Went to this amazing restaurant in Cork that Claire had told us about, the Ivory Tower.

She warned us that there is basically no entrance to this place, and you really need to know what you were looking for. You have to walk through and up these stairs through this whole Bohemian sort of place that reminded me more of the house Patrick's old apartment used to be in than an actual restaurant.

Well, the thing was - the food was absolutely amazing. We did an 8 course tasting menu, which is basically whatever the chef is feeling at the time. Some of the stuff are things from the main menu - other things are just thrown together from what looked good at the market. Great part is that they also did a Vegetarian option, which was absolutely fantastic too - not just leave off the meat stuff - but some definitely unique veg dishes.

Apologies on the video quality - couldn't bring myself to turn on the flash until the end. And to keep the portions in perspective - every dish was no bigger than 5 inches or so. We were still fat when we left, but not like you're expect if you were thinking a full plate.

Brian's Visit: Ross Castle

Stopped in Killarney on the way back from Dingle, so we did Ross Castle.

Different guide, but the same story. We didn't have the energy for a run through Muckross House or just general tourism, so we headed back for a nice dinner.

Brian's Visit: The Chart House

Went to the Chart House on the suggestion of the B&B owner where we were staying for dinner.

Really nice food, really well done. I remember the South African Chardonnay was good - but Brian didn't. Did a little Jamie Dunn and quietly ate my veg pate thingy all by myself in the corner and didn't come up for air until it was all gone.

And as usual, I skipped dessert and just ate Patrick's. My theory is that if you don't order dessert and even have half of someone else's - it's still just a small fraction of the calories you would have in eating the same amount if you actually ordered it yourself.

Brian's Visit: The Cathedral

They call this structure out in one of the outer Blasket Islands the Cathedral - huge rock formation.

Tons of birds flying around, along with some seals, etc.

Best part was getting there, we had to cross this rather chopping area between two islands. They warned us it was going to get a bit bumpy, but not that the waves would end up being taller than the boat . . . it was a big boat.

Brian's Visit: Boat Guide

Can you say 'Salty Dog'?

I loved this guy - he was our guide on our afternoon boat trip, and he was perhaps the best wildlife/naturalist guide that I've had.

He must have been living in Dingle for the past 120 years, because he just knows everything. But if you saw him sitting on the streets of Chicago, you would quicken your pace and miss him.

There were about 30 people on the boat and he just constantly walked around talking to everyone, finding out what they were most interested in, etc - great guy.

Brian's Visit: Geology Lesson

Warning: This post will only be exciting to geology students.

We took a boat ride around the Dingle peninsula to see puffins, Blasket Island, and the hang out Francois Mitterand's vacation home with his mistress (but that's a whole other story).

As we were going out, our guide pointed out this rock structure - the clear gray section towards the center right that looks like someone did a really bad plaster job or it looks like dried mud.

Turns out this section is over 200 million years old, and geologists basically come from all over the World to see this rock. Something to due with the fact that it came from deep under the Earth and that delicate structure actually survived - usually specimens are much smaller.

Told you only the amateur geologists would find that interesting.

Brian's Visit: Creative Recycling

I thought this was perhaps the most clever recycling trick I've seen in a while.

While walking through Dingle we passed a bus stop, which was covered by an old wooden boat. Kind of goes along with the theme of an old harbor town.

Brian's Visit: Rock Collecting Issues

While driving along the peninsula, we stopped at the Gallarus Oratory. Kind of an amazing structure - built perhaps as far back as the 6th century. No mortar, just one stone stacked up on another.

And forget the thing about climbing through the east window to clean your soul - only a 3 year old child would be small enough to do that. No risk there of it actually happening to an adult.

We did have a slight mishap though. As you know, Patrick and I collect a pebble or something from places where we visit and then put them in jars back home. Turns out I got a little carried away in Dingle. I think it was because I didn't have Joe around for my conscious like he was for the Taj Mahal incident.

Brian's Visit: Dingle

So with Brian arriving on Thursday, and a day to recover from jetlag - we were off to Dingle peninsula.

Drove through the countryside, and Patrick found a cool Bed and Breakfast (there are tons of them). Turns out the B&B had some sheep in the back of the house, but they wouldn't have anything to do with us.

Even though we were in Dingle a little bit ago with Liane, we did have some new things to do.

Brian's Visit: Blarney Stone

No trip to Southern Ireland would be complete without a visit to Blarney Castle. Fortunately, we had to work, so Jamie took Brian (along with Jamie's friend Matt) to Blarney Castle.

I think it's Jamie's fifth time. Not to kiss the stone mind you - that would tempt the fates and reverse the gift of gab.

Brian said he was expecting something totally different. As in not having to hold himself over a 50 foot drop to kiss a piece of rock. I still have the theory that the French Prince who first brought the Blarney Stone to the Castle basically didn't have a gift, so he picked up a stone about 10 miles outside of town.

There's been better marketing jobs than the Blarney Stone (say, Coca-Cola), but not too many.

Brian's Visit: A little bit of goodness

Back from France, I'm stocked with groceries - including duck confit - or what I like to call French KFC. It's like the closest thing the French will ever get to fast food.

So how do you cook it? Granted I had to get the "recipe" from Liane, but it ain't tough - just don't tell Patrick, otherwise he'd have it every night.

Basically open the can (yes, it comes in a tin can), find pieces of duck in fat, wipe off fat with paper towels, nuke duck for 60 seconds to slightly melt more fat, wipe off fat again with paper towels, and broil until the duck says it's done (about 10 minutes).

Bonus points if you're willing to clean your oven next week - don't use a tray - and have the fat (yep, you cannot get it all off) drip on some potatoes underneath. Brian and Patrick says that they're amazing.

Brian's Visit: Travel Nightmare

Sorry no picture on this one - too boring.

Got an email from Mom and Dad about 12 hours before Brian was suppose to land in Ireland. Turns out the issue with his last name being spelled wrong (and later corrected, supposedly) was not. So basically Brian couldn't check in at Portland. So after a couple of calls to travel services, and the two brain cells of the check-in attendant firing in sequence - she let him board.

We decided to skip man's worst nightmare, otherwise known as London's Heathrow airport, and just had Brian fly directly to Shannon, where I picked him up. You know, 2 hours drive in Ireland just isn't the same thing as a 2 hours drive in the US - you have wind and bend a lot more. Anyway, picked him up without any issues, and we drove back to Kinsale - where I was then off to work. He crashed.

Went to Kirby's for pizza that night - kind of a Thursday night institution anyway and an easy way to break him into food if he turned out to be a picky eater, which I wasn't expecting given his parents and he wasn't.

Fegersheim

Finally, back to Fegersheim - well, Strasbourg, but you know what I mean.

Patrick had to run down to Fegersheim from some training and support before his project went live, so the cheap twit in me to take advantage of a free hotel room, and make a long overdue visit to see old friends.

I have a list of things that I have to do: martini blanco, kir, picon, riesling - and that's just the aperitifs that I've been missing.

Fegersheim: Dinner with the old gang

A visit to Fegersheim without seeing old friends is just not an option. Fortunately we were able to have dinner with Laurence (with still broken knee), Richard (still taking care of wife with broken knee), Laurence Galocha (still laughing at Laurence Ciravegna with broken knee), and Bertrand Galocha (just still laughing at everything).

Found an interesting restaurant close to Petite France, and after the woman thought we were tourists who were in the mood for a 45 minute meal, she got better. Really an interesting place for Strasbourg - basically a house on the water in the heart of the city. Not sure what the history is, but the place must be a fortune.

Everyone is doing well (well, with the exception of Laurence and her broken knee from last January - more on that later). Really good to see them all again, it's like we never left.

Fegersheim: Back to the Market

Another walk down memory lane. This time to the market that was by our house. Turns out the same stalls are there, same fruit and vegetables are in season. Unfortunately, we were almost heading out of the town, so there was no sense to actually buy anything.

To be fair to the US, I think our local markets are actually pretty good relative to the french - during the summer season. It's when things start getting thin that the french markets last longer. You also have to keep in mind that this market is probably comparable to the Bloomington market, where the area served is only a couple of blocks as opposed to south central Indiana.

Fegersheim: OK, maybe one more touristy thing

Never made it to the local museums that were close to the Cathedral either. You busy with tourists usually, and again, I always thought I would make it there.

Went to the archaelogy (sp?) museum in the old Bishop's residence, and then over to the Cathedral museum where they have a lot of the original statues that were deteriorating too quickly, so they made copies for the outside and preserved the originals on the inside (most people don't realize that).

Fegersheim: Something New

Even though Fegersheim was more about doing the old stuff, you can always count on change.

Case in point is this new restaurant that was close to the Cathedral off the beaten path. The restaurant was actually a spin-off from the vegetarian place we went to a couple of time two years ago. They now have this chocolate cafe (that's really big in France now) and lunch place.

So I had a tasting menu lunch sampler thing. All vegetarian, really different stuff. Perfect for the summer - including some tofu and interesting sauces.

Fegersheim: Staub

Waited for this one for awhile too - cooking toys.

If you remember when we last left Staub, we had picked up some various industrial strength cast iron cooking pots from Staub (waiting for the people at Hasbro to replace the paultry candlestick that Colonel Mustard used in the Billards room with one of these bad boys).

As an afterthough I picked up two small iron chafing dishes that I found later made the most amazing apple or cherry crisp you've ever seen. Granted they still don't have the nostalgia as the original crisp pan, but these were good. So good, that I had to get more.

Unfortunately the Staub supply chain at said outlet store is about as predictable as Irish weather, so I had to go with the 5 inch diameter pans instead - figured I could use them for a Ya-Ya at some point so I got 8.

And in a followup note, turns out I use them all the time for dinner, turns out they are the perfect size for single portions or hot side dishes.